Ammunition-hoist.



A. W. BEAN 61]. A. KILLINGER. AMMUNITION HOIST.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. IG. |913. Lgmp Patented 0@t.26,1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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A. W. BEAN 611. A. KILLINGER. AMMUNITIONHOIST.

APPucATloN msn AuGJe. 1913.

2 SHEETSLSHEET 2.

Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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JUNTTED STAVSES PATENT FFTCE.

ANDREW 'W1 BEAN, OF MOUNT BLAINIEB., MARYLAND, AND JOSEPH A. KILLINGER, OF

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT 0F COLUMBIA. l

AMMUN'ION-HOIST.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (let. 2G, i 91.5.

Application led August 16, 1913. Serial No. 785,180.

To all 'Hf/wm 'zit muy concern.:

lie it known that we, Anneau' YV. hun, ot Blount; Rainier, in the county ot Prince. George and State of 'Marylanxh and Josemi A; Kimymonn, otllhishington, in the Districtot Columbia, citizens of the lluit-ed States. have invented certain new and usetal Improvements in Aunnunitimnlloists; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to loading ordnance, and more especially to the hoisting devices for raising heavy ammunition, as from the hold or magazine near the bottoni ot a gunhoat, through the various declis to the interior o't the turret.

The object et the invention is to produce an extremely simple mechanism for hoisting heavy shells, and one in which the shell is taken up automatically when it is fed to the hoist and is delivered automatically when it reaches the upper end ot the shaft, whereby hitman services are dispensed with further than the act ol' feeding the shells to the lower end of the hoist and taking them from its upper end and placing them in the cannon. This object. is carried out by constructing the hoist in the manner hereinafter more fully described and claimed and as shown in the drawings wlnwrein- Figure l is a vertical section and Fig. 2 a. front elevation ot this hoisting mechanism complete; Fig. 3 an enlarged section on about the line l-3 of Fig. 2, partly broken away, and Fig. 4. is a section on the line l--l of Fig. 3; lfig. 5 is an enlarged section taken about on the line 5-5 ot Fig. l: and Figs. C and 'T are sections on the `lines ti--t'i and THT respectively ot Fig. 5. Figs. S and f) are diagrams in elevation showing the di'lferent positions ol an ascending shell under the impulses of the two cams.

l'Ve have diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. l the internal construction ot' a battleship, or so much thereof as is necessary to a clear understanding ot' this invention. In the lower portion ot said ship, as perhaps within the hold ll'. is disposedA the driving mechanism for this ammunition hoist, so that, it the motor he an electric motor li as shown in Fig. 2, the electricity will he below the loading tloor L which ferais the bottom of the magazine M as shown and there will be no danger that a. spark will reach any combustible oluexplosive.. Ylrom said loading floor L the shaft S of this hoist extends upward, preferably at an angle of about 150, through the. deck or several decks l) and into the turret T. where the delivery end of the shaft S will be near the cannon or gun which is to receive the .unmunition. lt is to he understood that the general practice is to retain the ammunition in the magazine as long as possible, but during gun practice or while the boat is in action the shells are fed up the hoist as rapidly as they are used by the gunner-s within the turret or elsewhere. At other times, however, the ammunition is stored below, the hoist is out otl action, the guns are empty, and everything is as safe and ship-shape :.s possible.

In the drawings, the motor E is shown as geared at G to a main shaft l mounted in suitable hearings 2 carried on a support 3 and perhaps having a heavy ily wheel l, and on this sh att are secured two cams which are exact duplicates oit' each other although disposed in direct opposition, and a description of one will sullicc for beth. As best seen in Fig. 3 the cani 5 is exactly round but mounted otl'-ce.nter on the shat't l, its face is channeled or grooved as at G ior the reception of a tongue 7 at the lower end of a shoe S whose lower l'aee is curved and rests on the upper side of the cani as shown, and in order to reduce. friction this lower -lace. inap7 be oiled through the oil cup tl. To prevent the possibility thaty the shoe will he thrown ott the tace, we preferably provide the shoe with a hook itl which passes down over the outer side ot' the cam 5 and has its bill loosely disposed within an annular groove 11 formed in the cani as shown. Ordinarily the weight ol the Shoe and the rack bar carried thereby (as will bey explained below) willv hold the lower face et the shoe tightly in Contact with the upper or active face of the cam, hutit1 for any reason there should be a tendency to dislodge the shoe therefrom the hook 10 engaging the groove 11 will prevent. It desired, an antifriction roller l0 11u137 be carried by the hook lll. As seen in Fig. l the companion cam and shoe are con structed in precisely the same manner, with the di lierence of course that the hook is on the opposite Lace so that theif'iiodies of the two cams may run side by side and as close to each other as possible. n

From each slice rises a rack bar 12, its

lower end being by preferencepivotally and perhaps removably connected with the shoe as at 13, and its body passing through a suitable guide 14 carried by the licor L, and extending thence V`upfward throughoutthe length of the shaft Said shaft, asbest seen in Fig. 5, will by preference be made in the shape of a sheet-iron tube 15, cut away at its lower end the frontl side to produce an inlet 16 forA the shell or other. piece of ammunition A, and provided at its rear side with an oiset best indicated in Fig. 5, and which 'forms the housing for the two rack bars 12 and 12. That -is to say, a sheet metal strip' 17 is bent into substantially lilshaped cross section, and the arms of the U connected with the back ot the tube by brackets or angle plates 1S, the

A rear side or the tube 15 being provided lloosely receive pins 21.I

with slots'orcut away entirely to permit -the projection into it of the teeth ot' the rack bar-s yet to be described. These bars stand against oppositel faces of an uprigl'it strip -29, andfthey preferably have longitudinal ins 19 which project back into the tl-sliaped housingifi" as-seen 'in Fig. and are slotted at intervals as seen at 20 in Fig. 1 so as to The latter extend across said housing and through the strip 29, and prevent the dislodgnient of the bars. Atthe upper end of the shaft S brackets 22 carrying rollers 23 on either side of the mouth or outlet end ol2 the same, and over these rollers the shells il. may be passedas they are delivered troni the hoist, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. clear that' the and proportion et' part-s is immaterial, and it is obviously necessary that the elevator shaft S' extendthrough' all the intermediate decks D although we have illustrated but one in Fig. 1,

rllhe teeth ot the rack bars and their exact disposition are matters of importance in this invention. Each tooth is in the form of a dog whose upper or active 'face 31 is fiat but whose inner end is beveled beneath said face as seen at 32 in Figo, and the entire dog is mounted in a recess 33 in the body of the bar 12., which recess is disposed transverse to the length of said bar and is there fore almost horizontal when the bar is inclined about 15. l? rom the back ot the dog a rod or bolt 34 projects rearward, through an expansive spring 35 which is disposed between the rear end of the dogv and the rear end of the recess, and then through the rear wall of the bar 12-Where it receives a nut 36. By\ removing the latter the dog may of course be taken out of the recess 33. By ad- .justingthe hat 36 the extent to which the active face or corner of the dog will project lt will be' beyond the ifront face et the bar 12 may be regulated. These dogs constitute the. teethv throw ot the cauifromgits lowest position toits highest position will be six inches, and

while i that will be the length of the path through'v which theY rack bar reciproeutes. On this understanding and with cams having a throw ol.e six inches,` the active Aaces ofthe teeth .will be disposed slightly less than twelve inches apart, and in vsuch position on the two bars that they will besubstantially in .register with Aeach other whenone bar is up and the other bar is down, as seen in Fig. 2. lilowever, the tact that theyvare not exactly in register is important as will be seen. ll'e have shown the teeth on the right hand har 12 as set a little lower than those on the ,i

lett hand bar 12 and we have also shown the right hand bar as having one additional tooth at its lower end. which tooth lis pur! posely disposed a little below the level of the loading ioor L when this bar is down.

Referring now to the diagraniinatiu viewsy illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, when the shell A is ted into this improved ammunition4 heist, its lower end sliding on the floor L passes over the active tace ot' the lowerniost tooth a which at this time stands a trifle. below said floor as just described. A

one-halt' revolution of the shaft 1 then causes the cam 5 to raise the bar 12 six inches and the cam 5 to permit the bar 12 to descend six. inches so that all teeth on the` 'right hand bar now stand relativelyr twelve inches higher with respect to the teeth on the left bar than they did before the shaft made this half-revolution. lslowever,l the fact that the teeth on any bar are a trifle less than twelve inches apart causes those on the left hand bar at this time to stand a trifle below those substantially opposite to .them on the right hand bar, and as all teeth or dogs which are not pressed to the rear by the weight ot the shell will be pressed tori'io ward by their springs 35, that .dog (iy iinmediately beneath the lower end ot the shell on the left hand bar 12 will at this time be.

projected forward into position to support said shell. shaft for another half turn restores the parts to the position shown in Figs. 2 and 8, but this time the shell A' is carried up by Continued revolution et the.

the. lett hand rack bar to such a point in the shaft S that the next dog' 7) on the right hand rack bar may engage beneath the lower end ot the shell to raise the latter further on the next succeeding` milt-revolution of the shaft. Thus it will be seen that the teeth or dogs on the two alternately reciprocating rack bars raise the shell A step by step throughout the length of the shaft S until it reaches the upper end thereof and can be removed over the rollers 23. this piece of ammunition has passed upward out of the inlet 1G sulliciently far, the men at work within the magazine may present another shell to the hoist and it follows the first one up the shaft; in fai-.nit is quite probable that if the shells or pieces ot' ammunition are. being rapidly used on the gun deck or decks, they will be moving` up the shaft constantly. So rapid will be the supplythat it is quite possible the shaft S may be provided with openings as indicated at O in Fig. 'l so that it' there be guns mounted on the deck indi 'ated at l) the ammunition therefor could be supplied through the same hoist by taking it manually out of such opening. In fact, while we have described this device as particularly useful as an ammunition hoist, it will be clear that the same could be employed for elevating other articles than pieces of ammunition, and we reserve the right to put our invention to all uses to which it may possibly be adapted.

That is claimed as new is:

1. ln an ammunition hoist, the'combina-- tion with an upright shaft having a housing con'imunicating with its rear side and inlet and outlet openings in its front side and top, an ujn-ight partition in the housing, and pins across said housing at intervals and passing through the partition; ot upright rack bars movably mounted in the housing on opposite sides of said partition and having fins project-itu,r to the rear and provided with slots loosely emluaeinggl said pins, each bar ha vine; a plmality oli' recesses, a springpressed do; slidably mounted in each recess, and means tor raising and lowering said rat-.lc bars alternately.

2. ln an ammunition hoist, the combination with an upright shatt having a housingF communimiting with its rear side and inlet and outlet openings in its front side and top, and pins across said housing at intervals; ot' upright rack bars rnovably mounted side byside in the housing and having fins projecting to the rear and provided with slots loosely embracing said pins. cach bar havingv in its Jront side a plurality ot' recesses spaced an equal distance apart, and a sjn'ing-pressed don' mounted in each recess; and means beneath the shaft for raising and lowering7 said rari-1 bars alternately.

il. ln an. ammunition hoist, 'the combination with an upright shaltbavmg a housing Meanwhile, as soon asV communicatingwith its rear side and inlet and outlet openings in its front side and top, and pins across said housing at intervals; of upright rack bars movably mounted side by side in the housing and having tins projecting to the rear and provided with slots loosely embracing said pins, each har having in its front Side a plurality of recesses spaced an equal distance apart,-a dog slidably mounted in each recess and havin;- its upper active face fiat and its lower .t'acc beveled, a bolt projecting rearwardly from said dogr across the recess and through the bar and having a nut on its rear end, and an expansive spring mounted on said bolt between the rear wall of the recess and the rear end of the dog: and means beneath the shaft for raising and lowering said rack bars alternately.

l. 1n an ammunition hoist the combination of two bars each carrying a plurality of spring projected dogs, said bars being disposed side by side, and means tor simultaneously reciprocatingr said bars in opposite directions to move a projectile step by step.

5. ln a device of the character described a pair ot bars each provided with a series of spring projected means for engaging aprojectile. and means for reciprocating;r said oars simultaneously in opposite directions and alternately in the same direction.

6. ln a device of the character described means for movingr a projectile step by step, comprisime,- a pair ot' bars arranged in parallel relation and each provided with plurality ot' spring' projected dogs des ;ned to engage the, lower end olf ,the projectile, and cams t'or moving said bars alternately in opposite directions.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination ,of a shaft, a housingY communicating withsaid shat't, a pair ol bars disposed in parallel relation in said housing, each bar being provided with a series ot spring`r projected dogs mounted in recesses in said bars and adapted when depressed to lie [lush with the. faces of said bars, said dogs adapted to 'progressively engage and support a projectile, and means for simultaneously recijnocating said bars in opposite diri-ietions' for moving a projectile progressively in one direction.

8. VIn a device ot' the character described the combination ot' a shaft having openings therein to receive a. projectile, a. housing rommmm-,atingr with saidvshatt, a pair ot bars disposed in said housing,r in parallel relation. means for simultaneously reciproeatingr said` bars in opposite directions and alternately in the. same direction. and rollers mounted at one end of said shalt to receive and fuipport a projectile.

fl. lu a device ot the character described the combination ot a pair ol" hars each being' prin ided with a plurality of means for en- Cri lltl

gaging and supporting a projectile, and means for reciprocating said bars simultaneously in opposite directions and alternately in the same direction to convey a projectile step by step roinvone end to the other- .o said hars.

10. ln an ammunition hoist, 'the combination of a p inrality of parallel disposed bars and means for simultaneously reciprocating the bars in opposite directions, of projectileiifting membersl arranged to project 4alcove the bars'yvhen the latter 'are moved in one `direction and tolie flush with' the bars when the latter `are moved in the opposite direction.

11. lny an ammunition hoist, the combination of a plurality of parallel dis osed bars,

rections.` y j 1 13; n'an ammunition hoist, the combinameer@ a pliirality-of pilral'lel disposed laars each lprovided vwith yield'alole means for engaging thelovver'end of a projectile, and cams' tor movingthe 'bars alternately -in opposite ditionlof a shaft having' a projectile receiving opening, of la plurality of bars disposed Withiljxfthe shaft, means for simultaneously reciprocating the bars" in opposite directions and alternately in the. saine directiongneans carried v`bythe bars to lift a projectile, and

means mounted at one end of the 4shaft to receive'and support a projectile.

In testimony Whereoiye have hereunto set our hands lin presence of two subscribing Witnesses;i j I Arniiianvv W. BEAN.

JOSEPH A. KLLNGER. -lllitnesses: L. O. HILTON, J. A. GmosT'ANfizn. 

